American Idol regularly delivers high drama at a season's beginning as contestants give it their all to stand out and advance to the Hollywood rounds, but rarely do things ever get dangerous. The January 23 episode was an exception, as auditions were abruptly stopped when the judges picked up a smell of gas in the audition room. The building was evacuated, and first responders were called to the scene to investigate and make sure everyone was ok.
Per the firefighters who appeared in the episode, the gas leak was a result of something wrong with the pilot lights in the building's kitchen. The threat was promptly "mitigated," and auditions were able to carry on. Perry kept the mood light by being her goofy self out on the sidewalk while the investigation happened, and later thanked the responders on social media.
Each firefighter got a golden ticket for their trouble, though it doesn't appear any of them will actually be invited to Hollywood to compete. At least, one would hope not after that lackluster performance of "All Night Long," though it still made for a great moment that helped lighten the mood. There's no telling how that situation could've played out had the judges noticed the smell too late, or if something would've ignited the gas before the building had been cleared.
Lives were potentially saved, though Katy Perry is being a bit facetious when she's thanking the team for saving her life. Perry was hamming it up a bit while waiting to get back into the building and "collapsed" to the ground. She was later given a pulse oximetry for her finger, and a short time later leapt up to hug the firefighter for "saving her." For anyone questioning how serious the situation was, check out the video and pictures posted of Perry to her own account of her recovering on the ground.
Long story short, the propane smell may have been overwhelming, but all the American Idol judges likely managed to escape the situation with no long-term ill effects. That means none of them can blame it later when a contestant sent to Hollywood ends up being less than impressive down the stretch. Well, unless those firefighters somehow end up cashing in those tickets to perform later, then that's totally the fault of the gas leak.
American Idol Season 18 is still in the midst of its audition rounds, so tune into ABC Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET to keep up with all the action. CinemaBlend will be tracking the series as usual, and will continue to report on the latest and greatest news happening in the world of television and movies. For more TV options, check out our winter and spring premiere schedule.
